Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Topic Review (Newest First)

01-30-2009 05:21 PM

BarryK

First a Solvent-bourne will be best bet.

The difference between a cement epoxy is the corrosion protection is left out as far as zinc phosphates or by using different grade resins play a part also.
Where the made for, floor epoxy is better then say a car epoxy is they will use an additive so the car tires do not leave a tire print when the tires are warm and parked.

In 99 I did my wifes garage with car epoxy and I was stupid and did not put in an anti-slip that would be in a cement epoxy, for eight years if it was raining and I had on dress shoe, I would about break my a--, held up great but just redid it and added four ounces per gallon of walnut powder for an anti slip works great but now I do notice a tire marks show up once in a while and my wife will have to go out and scrub them. (its her garage, LOL)

At same time I did my play garage and I would never do that again as filler and paint just goes straight to the epoxy and it does not come off, at least with cement you can scrap off filler, instead of beating it with a hammer.
I believe the cement epoxies additive for the tires would not let the body filler stick but I'm not a 100% sure on that.

01-30-2009 03:17 PM

Kevin45

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewyscool

Thanks to all of you for helping me make my decision.....

Be sure to post up what you get done. Many people will be interested in the results

01-30-2009 10:43 AM

chewyscool

Thanks to all of you for helping me make my decision.....

01-30-2009 10:16 AM

poncho62

I look at it this way....My shop/garage does not look like someones living room, nor do I expect it to to....It doesn't have painted drywall, and pictures on the wall.....It gets dirty and greasy at times.

If you want a perfectly clean shop all the time, I say, fine get the expensive stuff. I will continue to put a cheap coat of paint over it every few years. and cover up that oil, paint or whatever I spilled.........

01-30-2009 09:36 AM

Rambo_The_Dog

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewyscool

Thanks Trees for all that info, and I'm prepared for all the prep work. But does anybody know or has an solid epoxy floor without its top coat in their garage? The saleman will try to sell me the top coat for the product that I will choose, I remember poaring an epoxy floor on the temporary quarters for offshore and there was no top coat applied. These floors finished off very nice, I cant remember what the exact product was though.

I used Sherwin Williams 2part epoxy on my smaller garage 2 years ago. 30+ year old concrete - no clear coat and seems to be holding ok - I don't work out of that side ...

I thought it was much too expensive though - 500+ for a small 2 car garage. The 2 part epoxy mix is a pain, the ratios make it difficult to just mix up a small amount for touch ups.

I am just now finishing a "paint" area in my shop - same story, 30 year old concrete - but this time I had double the area to cover so used a 1 part epoxy base from Ace and a 1 part epoxy clear coat.

I decided to go this direction for price - 1/3 the cost of the other products, and ease of touch up - open the can, stir and apply!

Much easier to maintain as the "paint area" is going to get overspray, paint splatter etc.

Will it hold up as well?

I won't know for a while - but it was a lot lighter on my checkbook and should be cheaper to maintain overtime in this application.

01-30-2009 07:45 AM

trees

Think of it like this. You want to do paint your car using base coat/clear coat. You go to the paint store to buy your paint and are not sure you want to pay the extra money for the clear coat since you get your color from the base coat. Does not take long for the sun, rain, fog, industrial waste, grit and grime to turn the base coat into a dull disaster.

Trees

01-29-2009 08:19 PM

chewyscool

Thanks Trees for all that info, and I'm prepared for all the prep work. But does anybody know or has an solid epoxy floor without its top coat in their garage? The saleman will try to sell me the top coat for the product that I will choose, I remember poaring an epoxy floor on the temporary quarters for offshore and there was no top coat applied. These floors finished off very nice, I cant remember what the exact product was though.

01-29-2009 05:18 PM

trees

First, you said old concrete. That makes the job more difficult and expensive since, like a good paint job on your ride, preparation is every thing, and you have a lot of prep work on old concrete. First up, if it has been sealed, this old sealer must be removed and that is done by chemical or mechanical (grinding or media blasting). After the sealant is removed, you need to treat it for grease and oils. Lots of soap and water will do, but I use a product called Sea Wash. Then you have to rinse and rinse until you think it is done, then rinse again. Next comes coating time. Water based epoxys is the cheapest and the biggest waste of time and money, in my opinion. Next is petrol based epoxys and then pure solid epoxys. Prep for each is the same as described above. I have done cheap water based epoxy, concrete stain, petrol based epoxy and pure solid epoxys. The pure solid epoxys are the most expensive, but you will only have to do it once in your life time. Last Sat, I spent 4 hours pressure washing 1400 sq ft of new concrete. I started by saturating the surface with the Sea Wash (degreaser) then used a 2800 PSI unit to clean and rinse the entire surface. I then spent the last hour with a hose and fan nozzle to finish the rinsing. Monday, I spent another 6 hours acid etching the concrete. I did the first run with one part Muratic Acid to 3 parts water. I was not happy with the results and then went with 1 part acid and 2 parts water, which finished the job to my satisfaction. Again, I rinsed with the same fan nozzle for about 2 hours. Ideally, I would have used litmus paper to test for good neutralization, but I was confident enough to do a taste test and since there was not taste or sensation on the old tongue, I declared done. Today, we put on the primer coat by Wolverine Coatings as per their instructions (You can go to wolverinecoatings.com and read their directions on how to apply their products). Tomorrow, we will apply the top (color coat) and Sat, we will apply the final clear coat. Monday, I will start moving in. Pictures will follow, but you will not gain anything over what Roger 55 has all ready posted.

The bottom line, you get what you pay for but usually the more initial outlay in time, effort, and money will be much cheaper in the long run and you would be more satisfied with the end results.

Trees

01-29-2009 01:18 PM

Kevin45

There is a HUGE difference in floor coatings and you may want to ask Roger1 about this. I imagine he will chime in also. He has used quite a few different types. I know what I have used out of the "paint stores" and such and they have not lasted. Most will peel within the first year. To everyone, money is always a concern, but if you cut corners now, it will cost you WAY more down the road. As an example, I had bare concrete floors. I acid etched and used an inferior product. Then I put another inferior product over that because I was told all I had to do was clean it a certain way and SHOULD have no problems. Now to do it the RIGHT way will involve some expense to strip properly, etch properly, and do it PROPERLY. At a little more cost than if I had done it right the first time.. But that's my $.02 on it. Roger1 will chime in, and Trees is getting ready to do his floor.

01-28-2009 04:59 PM

chewyscool

seems like the cheap stuff may be the way to go. I have seen an epoxy coating called armor clad and it is like 450 for the kit, but without the top coat it is 310, anybody use this stuff and does it really need the top coat that they recomend? Honestly I'm leaning toward this Epoxy, Im just not sure if the extra 140 is really needed.........

01-28-2009 05:54 AM

jetnow1

Floor

The better quality home center stuff works ok for the price- I did my girlfriends fathers garage floor with it 2 years ago and it still looks new.
The secret is to get the floor clean first- He had 50 years of old grease,
oil and previous paint on the floor- I used the provided cleaner, bought more,
and finally used muriatic acid to clean the floor before I was convinced it
was ready to do. He parks a 46 Lincoln v12 convert on it so it gets it's
share of stress! Good luck Jim

01-27-2009 07:53 PM

35WINDOW

poncho62,

I have always wondered what is the difference between a Floor Epoxy and a Epoxy Primer (like SPI)? It sure seems like tough stuff-where's BarryK when you need him?

01-27-2009 07:27 PM

poncho62

I just use cheap concrete paint.....do it every few years. I can't afford $1000 to do my garage.

01-27-2009 07:21 PM

chewyscool

Do I need to topcoat my floor

I was wondering if anybody has used an urathane epoxy floor coating with out using a topcoat on it? And how has it held up? I have the choice of the waterbased stuff at the home centers or a better product from the paint stores. This is just a parking spot for our cars all work is done ealse where. I'm just looking for a nice clean finish over the old concrete, price makes a differance too me, any sugestions?